Ultrasonic execs vanish

Frankfurt listed Chinese shoemaker Ultrasonic AG has become the latest Chinese company to report the disappearance of top executives.

Ultrasonic said in a statement Wednesday Chief Executive Qingyong Wu and Chief Operating Officer Minghong Wu went missing over the weekend and that most of the company's cash reserves in China and Hong Kong had also disappeared.

The company refused to comment further when contacted by DW. However, on its website Ultrasonic says it is holding a "relevant six-figure amount" to meet current obligations.

Cologne based Ultrasonic AG is the German holding of China's Ultrasonic-Group. It listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange in December 2011. Its shares were some 70 percent down in Wednesday midday trading, at around 1.80 euros ($2.33).

The company's 1,400 employees manufacture sandals, slippers and what it terms urban footwear. Sales topped 163 million euros in 2013, generating net profits of 35 million euros.

Nomura credit fate uncertain

Ultrasonic recently obtained a $60 million (46 million euros) credit line in Hong Kong from Japan's Nomura, raising worries about the fate of the money in view of the company statement that Hong Kong funds are "no longer in the company's range of influence".

Ultrasonic finance chief Kwong Clifford Chan is said to be in talks with authorities and business partners to clarify the situation. Nomura has arranged a conference call with the loan's backers on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the German stock market operator Deutsche Börse told DW that the company had always fulfilled its trading obligations, such as regularly offering shareholders access to its books. She said Deutsche Börse had no reason to penalize the company for the disappearance of its executives.

Rampant corporate malfeasance in mainland companies

Earlier this year another German listed Chinese manufacturer filed for insolvency after its CEO suddenly went missing. It is only one of a string of boardroom who-dunnits which have helped make Chinese markets a paradise for short sellers.

Among those hit, Tianhe Chemicals was targetted after hackers claiming to belong to Anonymous accused it of falsifying financial statements. Menswear company Fujian Nuoqi's shares suddenly slid 33 percent in July - a month later its CEO vanished amid talk he had run up massive debt.

Hong Kong based shareholder activist David Webb told Reuters that China is still a developing market with a weak rule of law. He says shareholders need to discount risk of corruption and fraud into any deals.

bew/uhe (Reuters, Ultrasonic.de, dw stock market correspondent)